Markets Fall as Commodities Continue Collapsing

Markets were down across the board today, with all three major indices losing ground. This marks the fifth straight day of losses for the Dow, which has been hammered on weak earnings reports. The Dow lost 120.72 points in trading today, and closed at 17,419.75. That puts the market at the lowest point that it’s seen all summer. The NASDAQ was also down today, with a huge 83.51 point drop. The NASDAQ closed out the trading day at 5,056.44.

Commodities Continue Collapsing

Most of us aren’t necessarily commodities traders.

We’ve got half of an eye on the marketplace, and usually a pretty good idea where oil and gold are trading at. Right now, things in the commodities markets are bad. It’s not just oil and gold, 13 of the 18 major commodities are trading at or near year-long lows.

Gold and oil are both obviously the standouts, since people are used to seeing them trade at a certain level. But other commodities like corn and sugar, which don't always have a fixed price in people’s minds are doing just as poorly.

Precious metals in general are all depressed. Copper and platinum are being hit just as hard as gold and silver are. In fact, the losses in precious metals have driven down share prices for mining companies across the board by more than 5%.

When it comes to agriculture, prices are down as well. Right now, corn is being harvested in a lot of places, and it’s make or break time for farmers. They’re finding that the price point for their harvest is too low to sell at, and storing the corn for later sales. Still, the agriculture industry only has so much room for storage, and with corn prices near year-long lows, there’s no indication when they’ll be able to sell higher.

Monster Beverage (MNST) missed its guidance by a whopping 12 cents per share. The soft drink company fell 6% in trading today, shedding 9.13 points to close at $144.87 per share. The problem was weak sales in Q2, weak enough that the company didn’t even come close to guidance. That throws the competence of Monster’s executive leadership into question, and the Board might not have patience for another quarter where the company misses the mark by this much.

Monster wasn’t the only soft drink company with problems today. Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR) continued an epic collapse, dropping nearly 30% in trading today. The coffee company is receiving pushback on new models, and despite a deal with Coca-Cola (COKE) they have a heap of problems in the mid-term. Keurig fell 22.31 points today, and closed at $52.67 per share.